From day one, the odds were stacked against Denise Stapley as the Matsing tribe continued losing challenges - and members. After being reabsorbed into a new tribe and becoming separated from her alliance member Malcolm, her future in the game continued to seem uncertain.

However, her strong physical performance in challenges as well as her low key social game allowed her to make it all the way to the final three and eventually receive enough jury votes to win the game and the $1 million prize that came along with the title.

We caught up with the 41-year-old sex therapist about her strategy in the game, her plans for the future and more following her victory...

What was your strategy for your final speech at Tribal Council?"The number one thing I knew I needed to say and wanted to make clear is that I survived every single Tribal Council. I knew I had to close that speech out with that and it would separate me from both Skupin and Lisa."

Do you think the others saw you as an underdog in the game? Why did they have that perception?"I've heard it described as riding coattails or under the radar, but I played a quiet, smart game. I had an alliance with Malcolm and as long as votes were going ways that were beneficial to me, there was no reason for me to be a bull in a china shop and instead I could just maneuver from week to week. That was my strategy."

You and Malcolm shared an alliance from day one. At what point did things go wrong for the two of you?"They didn't necessarily go wrong, but as soon as we got to that final four, I was trying to shore up whether he wanted to go forward with me and he could never give me that confirmation. I would have gone forward with him if he had but I went with Plan B and it worked."

You were sort of forced into working with him, which determined a lot of how things went. How different was the game you wanted to play?"The game I wanted to play was almost identical to the one I did. I had written out a two page strategy going in and it ended up being almost by the book to how I planned, just with building relationships and what I did at the end with the alliances I'd built and cutting the rope. I was there with Mike and Lisa at the end and that's who I'd have wanted to be there with, so it worked out well."

Let's go back to the merge - why did you make a move to try and get Penner out when it could have jeopardised your own game?"All along, my alliance had been with Malcolm and I'd gone into Kalabaw but ultimately my alliance was still with him. The crew that was doing that vote was going for Penner so I needed to show some allegiance with that and build that trust. It made sense for me to make that move and luckily it panned out well."

Was there a point after the merge, since Malcolm had gone to Tandang, that you thought he might vote against you rather than the other girls?"We'd made our alliance on day one or day two and that was always a little bit of a worry but I just knew. He's a smart kid and he could have dragged Angie along, but I knew he was looking at a more rounded alliance moving forward, so while I had a little bit of worry, I also had much more assurance from him and the plan was to keep picking them off - Angie, Roxy and the like."

Was there any one thing that you think made you a better player than Lisa or Mike?"You know, I really think it had to be - or I hope it was- a combination of things. Ultimately what pushed it was being able to say that above all else, I've survived every single Tribal Council and I'm sitting here while you guys are sitting there. I hope that's what kind of caught it, but I think people could tell I played a social game and everything else, so no matter what, I'd made it."

Did you feel it was a lock for you when you got to the final three?"Being at that final Tribal, there was part of me that thought, Oh, I think I just did it. But we have five months to replay it in our heads and think of the jury votes I might have had. Anyone could have called me and said, 'You won a million bucks' but I wouldn't have believed it until Sunday. As much as I wanted to hope, I never let myself believe that I had done it."

At what point did you feel the most desperate or in danger that you might go home?"The night it probably sunk in as the night I saw my name written twice and Penner went home. It was a split. There are times when you may not think you're really on the block but there are times when you feel it and I was really worried."

What was more difficult - playing the game or living with Abi?"Living with Abi! I have a really high tolerance for lots of things and I was able to get through the rain - it was miserable and horrible but you have hope the rain's going to end and as far as Abi goes, it just didn't end. That was probably harder than the elements - trying to keep my patience and not create too much of a stir that would put a target on my back."

What are your plans for your prize money?"So many things are going through my mind, but the first thing we need to do as a family is breathe and take it in. We have a 9-year-old daughter and we want to make sure that her future is taken care of. We want to be a good steward of this incredible gift. We're going to take our time to figure it out and maybe go on a vacation to a place that's warm any sunny and has a shelter - that would be great!"